King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands has issued an official apology for the Dutch role in the slave trade, saying he feels “personally and deeply” hurt, the BBC reports.

The country became a major colonial power after the 17th century, owning territories around the world, and Dutch slave traders sold more than 600,000 people, News.ro noted.

On Saturday, King Willem-Alexander called the practice a “horror”.

The royal family did nothing to stop it, he said.

Willem-Alexander was speaking at an event marking the 160th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the country – until the event it was unclear whether the king would apologize for the royal family’s role in the practice.

In June, a new study found that between 1675 and 1770, Dutch rulers received the equivalent of 545 million euros ($595 million) in modern money from the colonies where slavery was practiced.

During his speech in Amsterdam, King Willem-Alexander admitted that “the monarchs and rulers of the House of Orange took no action against [sclaviei]”.

“I stand before you today as your king and as a member of the government. Today I apologize to myself,” he said.

“I apologize for my inaction today.”

Accompanied by his wife, Queen Maxima, the king admitted he could not speak for the entire nation, but told the crowd that the “vast majority” of Dutch citizens “support the fight for equality for all people, regardless of skin color or cultural background. .”

“After recognition and apology, we can work together on healing, reconciliation and restoration,” the king added.

The crowd applauded his speech at the Cathy Cathy Festival, the country’s annual celebration of the abolition of slavery.

History of Dutch slavery

In the 17th century, the Netherlands conquered large areas in the regions that today make up Indonesia, South Africa, Curaçao, and West Papua, and became a key player in the transatlantic slave trade.

Thousands of people were taken from Africa to Dutch colonies in the Caribbean and South America, accounting for about 5% of the entire transatlantic slave trade, before the practice was outlawed in 1863.

But in the African nation of Suriname, it continued through a mandatory 10-year transition period, causing untold suffering and pain.

Last year, Prime Minister Mark Rutte also apologized for the country’s historic role in the slave trade, saying in a speech in The Hague that it should be recognized “in the clearest terms” as a “crime against humanity.”

Several Dutch cities, including Amsterdam and Rotterdam, have apologized for their role in the trade.

But the country needed time to deal with its colonial past, and only in 2006 was the history of Dutch slavery included in the school curriculum.